Fantasy Basketball Injury Updates: The latest on Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul and more

Worried about injuries to Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, and Anthony Davis? We've got the latest analysis on when you can expect them and others back.

Jeff Stotts runs InStreetClothes.com, focusing on sports injuries. He will provide short- and long-term updates on various injuries around the league. 

Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard (quad)

Two Western Conference All-Stars are currently sidelined with similar, but different injuries. Both athletes are managing inflammation in their quad tendon, but the terminology slightly varies between the two.

In New Orleans, Davis is dealing with quad tendinitis in his left knee. The injury is slowly improving but did force him out of the lineup for Thursday's win over Sacramento. However, rest and treatment should allow Davis to return relatively quickly.  

Tendinitis is classified as an acute injury when a tendon becomes irritated and inflamed. Tendinitis is often manageable with various types of treatment and players can often learn to play with the condition. Types of tendinitis include patellar tendinitis, quadriceps tendinitis, and Achilles tendinitis. 

Leonard has progressed in his recovery but continues to receive treatment on the area and remains without a definitive timeline as he recovers from tendinosis. 

The term tendinosis is used when the injury is classified as a chronic issue and is generally considered more significant. Tendinosis occurs when a tendon has been damaged and fails to completely heal. The condition is often very painful and the tendon is left functionally limited.

Both tendinitis and tendinosis can potentially be listed as a tendinopathy. The tendinopathy classification is utilized to indicate a disorder of the tendon and is often used as a catch-all term. As a result, it is difficult to determine the severity of Leonard's quad tendon injury. However, the Spurs' forward has previously missed time with a quadriceps injury on the same leg, suggesting this has been on-going problem. 

A November return has been suggested, meaning Leonard owners will have to proceed without Leonard for at least another week.

Chris Paul and Hassan Whiteside (knee)

Paul played in just one game with Houston after suffering a knee contusion. While the injury doesn't sound overly complex, the terminology is a bit misleading.

Most people associate the term contusion with soft tissue bruise. However, the term can be used to describe a more serious bone contusion or bone bruise. Bone contusions usually take longer to heal than soft tissue contusions. This is because healing factors within the body repair the associated damage just as it would for a true bone fracture. New bone tissue must be laid down to fill in the gaps created during the injury. Furthermore, bone bruises in the knee often require even more time due to the biomechanics of the joint.

Houston expects Paul's recovery to take weeks, not days, and has been actively looking at other options at point guard. In the meantime, the Rockets will once again lean heavily on James Harden with Eric Gordon also seeing an increase in usage.

Miami's Whiteside is also missing time with a left knee contusion. The bone bruise on his left knee has already cost him three games, with a fourth straight absence slated for Friday. Fortunately, his long-term outlook appears better than Paul's for now. This may be attributed to the location of Whiteside's injury as bone bruises on non-weight bearing surfaces heal quicker. While the exact location has not been disclosed, Whiteside is progressing through his treatment protocol and hopes to be back sooner rather than later.

Nicolas Batum (elbow)

The Hornets forward is still out after suffering an elbow sprain in the preseason. Batum tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow and was initially expected to miss eight-to-12 weeks. UCL tears are more frequently seen in baseball as many MLB pitchers have undergone Tommy John surgery, a procedure utilized to reconstruct the ligament. However, UCL tears are relatively rare in the NBA. 

Batum's case is just the seventh confirmed moderate to severe UCL injury over the last 13 seasons. The average number of missed games for previous players is roughly 21 games (6-to-7 weeks), but that includes several players who suffered Grade 2 or partial tears. On the plus side, Batum's injury did not require surgical intervention and will not cost him the entire season. Look for Batum to return sometime in late-November to early December.

Jimmy Butler (illness)

The Timberwolves' forward recently missed a pair of a games with an upper respiratory infection. The illness isn't anything out of the ordinary but should serve as a reminder that NBA players aren't immune from the effects of cold and flu season. Illness often spreads quickly amongst a team due to proximity and exposure time. Hopefully Minnesota will take the necessary precautions to avoid any other player catching Butler's bug. He is back Friday.

Rajon Rondo (hernia)

Rondo has yet to make his Pelicans debut due to recovery from a sports hernia. These types of injuries develop when repetitive forces are placed through the midsection and diverted into the groin and abdominal muscles. The undue stress then leads to micro-tears in a muscle or multiple muscles in the area. The ensuing damage leaves the abdominal wall and inguinal canal weak and damaged. As a result, an actual abdominal hernia can develop, though most often a true protrusion will not be present. As a result, there has been a recent movement to eliminate the term sports hernia.

Leading the pack is Dr. Williams Meyers, an orthopedic surgeon who has successfully performed surgery on countless athletes including Miguel Cabrera, Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson and now Rondo. Dr. Meyers prefers to use the term core muscle injury as it avoids the misleading hernia tag and indicates the injury can occur to any muscles that comprise an individual's core. Surgery for a core muscle injury involves repairing the injury site arthroscopically and is commonly accompanied by a six-to-eight week recovery window. However, Rondo is looking to return ahead of that estimated timeline and is hoping to be back in four-to-six weeks.